Reversing valve



June 11, 1929.

D. R. FRANCIS REVERSING VALVE Original Filed Oct. 9, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet1 ATTORNEY June 11, 1929- D. R. FRANCIS 1.716.881

INVENTOR DEN/1. R. FRHNc/S 'MRM Patented June 11, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DANIEL ROBERT FRANCIS, OF WATERBURY, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE WA-TERBURY TOOL COMPANY, OF WATERBURY, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OFCONNECTICUT.

REVERSING VALVE.

Original application filed October 9, 1926, Serial No. 140,433. Dividedand this application filed August 29, 1927. Serial No. 216,066.

i This invention relates to reversing valves and particularly to 4-wayvalves, by means of which the flow of fluid 1n a pair of conduits may bereversed.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a new and improvedconstruction for such a valve, by means of which the valve, in additionto serving to reverse the flow of fluid, may also be used for by-passingthe fluidfrom one conduit to another.

A further object is to provide a construction which will be not onlrelatively simple and inexpensive to manu acture, but which will be easyto install.

Another object is to so construct the valve that it will besubstantiallyleak-proof and which will require a minimum of attentionfor its maintenance.

Another object is to so construct the valve that it may be readilyinserted in place within a pair of parallel pipe. lines, or may be used.to connect two pairs of axially aligned arallel ipe lines.

The a ve and other objects will appear more fully from the followingmore detailed description and by reference to the accompanying drawingsforming apart hereof, wherein Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view showin atype of installation with which the val ve of my invention isparticularly adapted for use; Fig. 2 is an enlarged central longitudinalsection through a valve constructed in accordance with the principles ofthis invention; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section on theline 3--3 of Fig.2, and Figs. 4, 5 and 6 aregtransverse cross sections on the lines 44,

' 55 and 66 of Fig. 2.

In the diagrammatic illustration shown in Fig. 1 the valve isillustrated as interposed within the two parallel ipe lines whichconsist of the two axially a igned arallel pairs of conduits ab, anda"b'. T ese conduits furnish communication in the particular exampleillustrated between-a hydraulic pump A and a fluid pressure motor B. Theconstructional details of the pump and motor are not illustrated, assuch details form no part of the present invention. It will besufficient for the purposes of the present disclosure to state thatfluid from the pump is circulated by means of the two parallel pipelines to and from the motor B.' The diagrammatic illustration isintended to indicate a type of mechanism known as a hydraulic speedgear, and more particularly the well known speedgear, called a Waterburygear. In mechanlsms of this type it is the common practice to provide apump, the output of which may be varied or reversed by means of anadjustable control shaft, and the fluid from the pump is circulatedunder a pressure to the motor, which usuall is not provided with anyadjusting members for varying its effect. In installations such as shownin my co-pending application, Serial #140,433, filed October 9, 1926, ofwhich this case is a division, it is desirable to provide means wherebythe direction of rotation of the motor may be reversed, and the motormay also be rendered inoperative by by-passing the fluid under pressuredirectly from one pipe line to the other without interrupting theoperation of the pump or,

changing the adjustment of its control shaft. In order to secure thedesired result a 4-way reversing valve 10 is connected across the pipelines ab and is so constructed that when the valve is set in one of itspositions, the fluid will pass, say from the pipe b, directly to themotor B and will return by the pipe (1 to the pump A. In another of itspositions the flow of the fluid from the motor will be reversed so thatthe ports of the motor which formerly were the suction and pressureports will become pressure and suction ports respectively, while instill another position of the valve the fluid will be caused to passdirectly across from the pipe I) to the pipe a. As shown in Figs. 2 to 6of the drawings, said valve comprises an. outer casing 10 having fourflanged conduits 11, 12, 13 and 14. The conduits 11 and 12 are locatedupon one side of the valve casing, and the conduits 13 and 14 arelocated upon the other side thereof and in axial alignment with theconduits 11 and 12 respectively. The provision of the axial] alignedconduits enables the valve, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, to be readilyconnected or interposed within the two pairs of axially alignedconduits.

As shown in Fig. 2 the ends of the pipes a, b, which lead to the pump,are connected to the conduits 11 and 12 respectively, while the ends ofthe pipes a, b. which extend from the valve casing to the fluid pressuremotor B, are connected to the conduits 13 and 14; v The conduits 11 and12 are of similar construction and terminate at their inner ends inelongated ports 15 and 16, through which the conduits communicate with acylindrical valve chamber 17. These ports extend approximately half wayaround the circumference of the valve chamber, and a plurality ofrecesses or depressions 18 are .provided in the wall of the valvechamber adjacent to and in communication with the ports 15, 16 for apurpose presently to be described. The conduit 13 terminates in a port19 located substantially midway of the valve chamber 17 and 111comnmnication with said chamber, while the conduit 14; branches andterminates 1n two ports 20 and 21, located one at each end of, and incommunication With, said valve chamber.

Slidably mounted within the valve chamber 17 is a piston valve 22,suitably secured to a valve operating rod 23, said rod extending at eachend outwardly beyond" the valve casing and being slidably mounted inpacking boxes 24, 25 detachably secured to the valve casing; each ofsaid packing boxes being provided with stufiing glands 26 topreventleakage of the fluid about the valve rod in accordance with the usualconstruction of devices of this character. It will be noted that aplurality of webs 27 are provided betweecn the recesses 18 forfurnishing bearing surfaces for the piston Valve.

The piston valve is of the same general configuration as used forlocomotive slide valves and has a pair of annular bearing surfaces 28 ateach of its ends, between which surfaces the valve body is reduced, asindicated by the reference character 29.

The operation is as follows: Assuming that the pipes at and b are thesuction and pressure pipes respectively, it will be seen that when thevalve 22 is moved toits extreme position to the right of Fig. 2 of thedrawing, the bearing surfaces of the valve will be located to the rightof the ports 15 and 16 respectively. In this position of the valve, thepipe a will be in communication with the pipe a and the pipe I) incommunication with the pipe Z), the fluid passsing to the motor throughpipe I), conduit 12, port 16, through the valve chamber 17 to the leftof the valve, entering port 20 and passing through conduit 11 to thepipe Z); while the fluid passing from the motor will ilow through thepipe a, conduit 13, port 19, around the reduced central portion 29 ofthe valve, and thence through port 15, and conduit 11 to the pipe (1.l/Vhen the valve is moved to the extreme left of Fig. 2 of the drawing,the fluid will then flow from the pipe I) through conduit 12, port 16,through the valve chamber 17, around the reduced portion 29 of thevalve, and, entering port 19, will flow through the conduit 13 to thepipe a; while the fluid from the motor will leave through the pipe I),conduit 14, port 21, and Will flow from port 21 through the valvechamber 17 past the right end of the valve 22 to port 15 and conduit 11thence to the suction pipe 0. lVhen the valve is in the midway positionshown in the drawings, the fluid will be by-passed from the pipe I) tothe pipe a, the fluid passing from the pipe I) through conduit 12 andport 16 to the recesses 18 of said port from which it flows through thevalve chamber around the reduced portion 2.) of the valve to therecesses 18 of the port 15 and thence through the port 15 and conduit 11to the pipe a.

Any suitable means may be provided for operating the valve 22; as shownin the drawings, one end of the valve rod 23 is reduced to provide astraight sided tongue with which is engaged the yoked jaws of a lever30. The lever 30 may be actuated in any suitable manner as for exampleby having one end thereof pivotally secured to any suitable support andthe other end provided with a handle by means of which the lever may beswung upon its pivot to slide the valve to its different operativepositions.

It will be seen that the Valve herein disclosed requires but a minimumamount of movement to eflect either a complete reversal of the directionof flow of the fluid through the motor B or to stop entirely the flow offluid to the motor, and that these functions are performed by a muchsmaller amount of movement of the valve plug than is required where arotatable member is employed in a reversing valve. Furthermore, it ispossible with a valve constructed in accordance with the principlesherein disclosed, to more effectively prevent leakage of the fluid pastthe valve surfaces or from said valve cas- While I have shown anddescribed the valve as connected in an installation consisting of a pumpand motor, it will be understood that the invention is not limited inits application to. the particular apparatus shown in Fig. 1, but thatit is applicable to any installation in which it is desirable to reversethe direction of flow of the fluid or to by-pass the fluid from one pipeline to another.

It will also be understood that many changes, variations andmodifications of the particular constructional details of the valve maybe resorted to Without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. A valve comprising a casing provided with two sets of axially alignedconduits, means to connect said conduits with the opposed ends of twopairs of pipe lines, said valve casing being provided with a valvechamber and ports through which said conduits communicate with saidchamber,

and a valve member mounted within said chamber and movable to aplurality of different set positions, in one of which the members ofeach pair of conduits are 1n direct communication with each other, 1n asecond position of said valve member, one member of each pair ofconduits is in communication with a member of the other pair ofconduits, and in a third position or said valve member, a member of eachpa1r of conduits is in communication with a different member of theother pair of conduits than when said valve is in said second posltion.

2. In a valve, a valve casing provided with two pairs of axially alignedconduits, means to connect said conduits with the opposed ends of twopairs of pipe lines, a valve chamber, ports for establishingcommumcation between said conduits and chamber, and recesses adjacent toand in communication with certain of said ports; and a valve membermovably mounted in said chamber for selective movement to a plurality ofdifferent set positions, in one of which, communication is establishedbetween the respective members of each of said pair of conduits, inanother of said positions communication is established between themembers of one pair of conduits with the members of the other pair, andin a third position of said valve member communication is establishedthrough recesses and said valve chamber between said certain ports.

In a valve, a valve casing having two pairs of axially aligned conduitsand means for connecting said conduits between the opposed -ends of twopairs of pipe lines, said valve casing being provided with a cylindricalvalve chamber, ports establishing communication between said chamber andsaid-conduits, and recesses adjacent to the ports for one of the membersof each of said pa1r of conduits; a valve piston slidably mounted insaid chamber for movement to a plurality of set positions, in one ofwhich communication is established through said ports and chamberbetween the respective members of each pair of conduits, in a secondposition of said piston one of the members of one of said pa1r ofconduits is in communication with one of the members of said other pair,and in a third position; communication is established through saidports, recesses and said valve chamber between one of the members of oneof said pair of conduits and a difierent member of the other pair ofconduits than when said valve is in said second position.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

DANIEL ROBERT FRANCIS.

